Homme of the moment: Gerard Depardieu in The Closet

Gerard Depardieu is one of those international stars whose acclaim and appeal have always puzzled me. But the French Institute / Alliance Francaise does not appear to give two shits about how much movies like Green Card repel me: Its two-month tribute to Depardieu starts today at Florence Gould Hall with his faux-gay turn in The Closet.

Naturally, the series includes obvious Depardieu benchmarks like Cyrano de Bergerac, The Last Metro and Camille Claudel, some of which screen as double features on Oct. 11 and Oct. 18. The remaining Tuesday screenings run at 12:30, 4 and 7 p.m.

The Institute has no Depardieu appearances planned, as far as I have heard, but admit it: You French cinema geeks are still reeling from Catherine Deneuve's visit earlier this year. Meanwhile, you can have my seat during Jean de Florette—really, I insist.